I witnessed a staged car crash last Friday in downtown Louisville! The Kentucky Justice Association put on a phenomenal seminar on Auto Damages which I had the privilege of going to. I normally don’t say that because seminars can be boring. Accident reconstruction experts Sonny Cease and Rob Miller planned and stage the car crash as part of the day long seminar.

I was taken by bus from the Marriot to a parking lot on River Road to watch a staged car crash. This was a lot more than a bunch of lawyers who were kids at heart crashing cars. The accident was set up to demonstrate the dynamics of a car accident, how to determine speed from the crush of the vehicles, how to obtain information from the black box ( all cars will be required to have this after 2010) , how to use that information obtained and how the occupant of the bullet vehicle reacted to the impact. This was a fascinating event to say the least. There were cameras and monitors set up every where. Cameras were on top of adjacent buildings and on the inside of the bullet car. The safety of the driver of the bullet car was a concern. A protective vest, gloves, helmet and knee pads were worn. This is not a job I would want, no matter how many precautions are taken. The Louisville Fire Department and the Louisville Metro Police Department were also on hand.

I have witnessed automobile accidents before. I have been in minor car accidents myself. I have been to the scene of many motor vehicle accidents. It is totally different when you know it is going to happen. The anticipation is odd. The violent nature of the impact was more severe than I imagined it would be. I was surprised when I found out the speed of the bullet vehicle at impact with the parked car was 27 mph. It seemed a whole lot faster. Needless to say, this experience has given me a new perspective on what accident victims go through. The violent nature of the crash is something you can not explain without being there. Check out the video I took and see for yourself.